It's a Cinderella battle in the second round of the 2024 men's NCAA tournament.
No. 11 NC State kept the upsets coming in the first day of play after eliminating No. 6 Texas Tech 80-67 on Thursday.
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The game was close at halftime as NC State led 37-33. But the Wolfpack increased the lead with a 43-34 point differential in the second 20 minutes.
The Wolfpack probably wouldn't have gone through to the second round if it wasn't for the sudden emergence of Ben Middlebrooks.
The 6-foot-10 junior forward, who transferred from Clemson, came into the game averaging just 5.5 points in a bench role.
He then came off the bench against Texas Tech and dropped 21 points, four rebounds, two steals, two blocks and an assist. He shot 6-for-8 overall and 9-for-10 from the foul line.
Mohamed Diarra (17), DJ Burns Jr. (16) and DJ Horne (16) all eclipsed double-digit points as starters for NC State.
On the other side, Texas Tech couldn't get going from long distance. While the Wolfpack aimed for the paint having shot 5-for-13 from beyond the arc, the Red Raiders converted just 7-for-31 tries, a poor 22.6% clip.
Joe Toussaint led the way in scoring with 16 points, while Pop Isaacs (12) and Darrion Williams (10) were the only other players to reach double figures.
The result means there will be a Cinderella battle in the second round, as No. 11 NC State will play No. 14 Oakland, who eliminated No. 3 Kentucky 80-76 earlier in the day.
The NC State-Oakland matchup will be just the seventh 11 vs. 14 second-round game in tournament history. The No. 11 seed is 6-0 in such matchups, so Oakland will need to make further history to reach the Sweet 16.